Conference misery::feline_v1

    I had Bonnie photographed this weekend by a gentleman who's last
    name is Cote.  He worked pretty hard to get good pictures of her.
    
    We also tried to get pictures of Dundee who would only crouch on
    the table and scowl at us :-(  It must have looked pretty funny
    with three humans bouncing around the room, waving things, and
    throwing things trying to get a reaction of out Dundee.  The
    most we got was a cocked ear!  Good think I already have pictures
    of him.
      N

    While we're on the subject of cat photographers, Larry Johnson is
    going to be in Boxboro April 14th and 15th.  Does anyone know of
    his work and if it is good?  I had the pleasure of watching Carl
    Widmer photograph Linda Sobek's Mistral last weekend and he was
    really very patient and pleasant to work with.  Linda, I think he
    got some great shots of Mistral!
    
    Jo, Carl had some albums there, and we saw a picture of Suzie and
    Westie.  I think there was one other cat of your breeding but
    I can't remember which.  I asked Carl if he had a picture of Moody
    but he didn't have one with him.  He knew all your cats by name!
    
    Anyway, if anyone has info to report on Larry Johnson, I'd appreciate
    it.  I am planning to bring Kirby along to Boxboro for a day just
    to have his photos done, but will reconsider and take him to Seacoast
    if Chanan will be there.
    
    Thanks,
    Roberta
    
    
    

    Roberta,
    
    I had Larry Johnson take pictures of Stripees.  The few shots he took
    came out okay, but nothing spectacular.  He didn't seem to have the
    finesse with the cats that Chanan, Jane Howard, or Carl Widmer do.  I
    had Carl take pictures of DWeeBs this weekend.  
    
    The biggest problem with Johnson was that he didn't seem to consider
    the fact that that the cats might scare.  And, if I remember correctly,
    he only takes 6 shots.  Carl proably took 20 pictures of DWeeBs, Chanan
    took maybe 10 - 15 of Stripees.  Jane's pictures weren't as good as
    Chanan's, but, she was real patient.  Stripees wasn't easy to
    photograph.
    
    Too bad you didn't bring him this weekend for Carl to do  him!  I was
    very impressed!
    
    cin
    

    I had Chanan do Lil last August - she, at the time, wasn't used to
    be out of the house and was scared on the table (the photographer's -
    it's hard to believe Lil being scared of anything NOW) - anyhoo, 
    Chanan sent me 3 proofs that were WONDERFUL - you would never know
    that that cat was so scared!  We could only do a half sitting,
    but the 3 shots were great - I'm probably going to wait until
    August (SeaCoast) myself.  It was really worth it!
    
    I usually have those 3 pics of Lil on my cage, Roberta - you may
    have seen them , but you can see them in either Weston CT or at
    Boxoboro.
    
    E.

    
    i've had magen and cinnamon done by pawtraits in milford, nh. they
    were execellent with them. one of the pictures has both of them
    in it and it came out great. they are really patient and if you
    don't like the first set of proofs, they will re-do them free, until
    you are happy with them. i also had my mom's lhasa apso and my sister's
    two poodle's done by then. they only photograph animals.
    
    cindi
    

    I use Chanan, Carl Widmer and once tried Vicky Jackson.  She did
    Limoges, and though it was nice to have some props in the picture,
    I wouldn't use her again.  She isn't used to working with the cats.
    I specifically told her that Limoges was very playful, and that
    if she wanted to get pictures of her in baskets and stuff, she *could
    not* use a toy to get her attention as Limoges would fly out of
    the basket.  Well, she didn't listen to me, kept wiggling toys,
    and Limoges was all over the place.  It wouldn't have been bad except
    that Vicky started getting mad at Limoges!!  When I got the pics,
    two of them were out of focus, and three had glowing eyes!  And,
    she doesn't give you the contact sheet, only 6 proofs for the same
    money.
    
    Chanan is great, works well with the cats, knows what I like and
    want in my pictures.  I use him alot.  Carl has improved alot, and
    is local, so I use him alot too.  I have finally convinced him that
    I don't want head shots of my Birmans unless there is a foot in
    there too. :^)  He does alot of my cats, really likes Birmans too.
    I had told him to be looking for Linda and Mistral, my grandson.
    We have set it up for Carl to come to the house and photograph my
    next litter for me when they are about 7 weeks old.  That will be
    fun.  Carl has done Kalliste, Laci, and Moody for me so far.  Oh,
    and a litter of four month old kittens.
    
    Chanan has a new deal where for an extra $5.00 he will print every
    picture in your sitting.  I used that when we did Westie, and got
    about 20 great proofs.  I also had Carl do Westie.  I guess maybe
    Westie is just photogenic cause all the shots came out good.  I
    really like that one of Westie and Suzie.  She may use it on her
    business cards (she's in real estate).
    
    Jo

    E.T., will Chanan definitely be at Seacoast this year?  I'm assuming
    that all of these photographers charge a sitting fee of $25.  That
    isn't too bad, as long as you're not obligated to order a certain
    dollar amount once the proofs are back.  I checked with some local
    photography studios, and most want you to order a package of some
    sort and spend up to a certain amount of money, which I can't afford.
    

    Well Roberta, I can't say for certain but he has been there the
    past couple of years.  The next time I see Virginia, which should
    be in Boxboro for sure and maybe Weston CT, I'll try and remember
    to ask her if she booked him for this coming August.
    
    Remind me if you are in Boxboro - to ask Virginia, that is !
    
    E.T.

    The CFA Almanac prints a Photographers Show Schedule each month.
    
    Currently, it says that Chanan will be at the following shows:
    
    March 17-18 Mid Michigan CF, Rochester, MI
    April 21-22 Rainbow CC, Pico Rivera, CA
    April 28-29 North Western Persian Breeders, Vallejo, CA
    May 12-13 Tarheel Triangle CF, Raleigh, NC
    May 26-27 Saguaro CF, Tucson, AZ
    August 11-12 Los Colores, Pomona, CA
    September 15-16 Santa Monica CC, Santa Monica, CA
    October 27-28 Indy CC, Indianapolis, IN
    
    He lives in southern California, so we get to have him at our shows
    alot.  He was at Revelers this weekend, and that wasn't on his
    published schedule, so he may still be at Seacoast.
    
    Jo

    I had two sets of proofs done for Bonnie - as I said - and that
    cost $20.  MR. Cote was offering 4 proofs for $10.  I wish I had
    thought of a shot with both Bonnie & Dundee.
    

    I see that he isn't yet - but the SeaCoast date on his calendar isn't
    booked yet.  They may be late requesting him.  I'll check - I hope
    he does come!
    
    E.

    I called the photographer advertised in the base note and she is
    very expensive.  $45 for the sitting fee, and then once the proofs
    are back, you have to choose a package, the cheapest being $99 for
    only 1 pose.  Next "cheapest" is $175.  You get a lot for that $175,
    but I don't have $220 to spend.  Individual prints are very expensive,
    so it is more economical to go with the package (an 8X10 is $50).
    
    Pawtraits is a bit far to travel; guess I'm going to have to hope
    Chanan does Seacoast!
    

    We have had Calvin & Hobbes now for just over a month and I decided
    it would be a good idea to have some pictures of them, however I
    dont have the time or money to take them to a professional photographer
    so I did some myself and would like to pass on what I learned over
    the last week or so.
    
    Firstly, you must be prepared to take LOTS of pictures, and only
    expect a few of good shots back, I took 50 shots (2 films) and
    only got about 5 or 6 which I think would be worth having enlarged,
    there were a lot of out of focus shots where one of the beasts decides
    to come and lick the camera lens just as I am about to take the
    shot, and a few shots of tails, when the owner decided he had had
    enough of posing and wanted some dinner instead.
    
    Dont try and sit the cats down for a long time posing, they soon
    get bored, however this might be O.K. for an older more sedate cat.
    It is much better to have the camera loaded and ready all the time
    and just grab it when the cats are in a playfull mood, keep the
    camera ready for at least a couple of days.
    
    Two heads are definitely better than one when photographing cats,
    one to take pictures and another to hold their attention with their
    favourite toy or food/treat.
    
    I had been trying all week to get a good shot of both cats together
    and not had much success when I figured out the following tip,
    unfortunately it was right at the end of my last film, so I only
    got one shot using this method.  Figure out a good position for
    a shot and get the camera set up and focused on that spot, then
    get your cats and place them on the spot with a box over them to
    keep them there (I used a laundry basket) then get an assistant
    to remove the box and immediately take a picture, I got a shot of
    both guys looking round thinking "who turned the lights out?", but
    if you leave them under the box for too long you will probably end
    up with a shot of sleeping cats.
                                                                
    It is usefull if you have an auto-focus camera, as that gives you
    one less thing to worry about, but this is not essential.
    
    Try to use a flash, espescially indoors, as the flash will 'freeze'
    the cats no matter how quickly they are moving, also this seemed
    to intrigue my two and held their attention for quite a while. 
    Sometimes The flash will be reflected back from their eyes and will 
    give them devilish looking bright eyes, this can be good or bad 
    depending on the shot. The flash will not hurt the cats eyes any 
    more than it hurts yours when having your picture taken.
                                   
    
    Sleeping cats are easy to photograph and look soooooo cute!.
    
    If you take your own pictures, it would be so much easier and cheaper
    to have lots of reprints taken for freinds, or if the unthinkable
    should happen and you need to put up posters with a picture. 
              
    It is absolutely great when you get 'the picture' enlarged and framed,
    and a visitor admires it and asks 'where did you get the protrait
    done?' and you reply nonchalantly 'oh, I took it myself'.
    
    Be prepared to tear your hair out when you have just finished a
    film and sent to be developed, and the cats decide they do like
    posing after all and give you some great poses, but you aint got
    any more film AAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!
                            
    For those who know a bit about photography terminology:
    
    If you can manage the focussing it is a good idea to use a large
    aperature (small f stop), this will keep the cats in focus while
    blurring the background detail and really making the subject stand
    out. If you are having trouble focussing use a small aperature (large
    f stop) which will give a large depth of field and give you a better
    chance to get the cat in focus, you will almost certainly need a
    flash to do this though.
    
    If anyone has anymore tips for photographing the fur-faces please
    enter a reply as I will be trying again when they have grown a bit
    more.
    
    Bye.
    
    Martyn, Calvin & Hobbes.
       

    Gee Martyn, your note couldn't have been entered at a better time!
    My folks just gave me a really neat new Minolta camera for my birthday.
    It is auto everything and also has manual capability (it's gonna
    take me AGES to figure out how to use it!!), zoom lens, removeable
    swivel flash, the whole 9 yards.  After spending close to $75 to
    have one of my cats photographed at a cat show ($25 for the sitting,
    the balance on reprints) and then having the lab screw up the order
    (after waiting 3 weeks for it to arrive!), I'm thankful for the
    opportunity to finally start learning how to take pictures myself.
    
    3 of my kitties have blue eyes, so I prefer to take the pics in
    natural light, and also in auto mode since I'm still a beginner.
    With Thursday and Friday off for V days this week, I'm hoping for
    a nice sunny day, so I can sit around the house and snap pics of
    the kids!  One thing I will say for professional photography:  at
    the cat show, the environment is strange, and the cat is more inclined
    to sit still.  The photog there used lots of toys to attract Murdock's
    attention, and since he is a natural ham anyway, we got several
    nice shots (and he only took about 10 and sent me the 6 best).
    
    Thanks for entering your note.  Being new to photography, I enjoy
    these discussions.
    
    
    --Roberta
    

	A couple of more hints...

	1.  If you have a swivel flash, bounce the flash off the ceiling, 
	    rather than aiming it directly at the cats face.

	2.  Be careful with backlighting.  I've taken many pictures
	    of my cats in the window and the back lighting sometimes
	    tends to be too bright and the subject too dark.  A flash
	    is helpful to correct this problem.

	3.  Use a flash outside too since it will eliminate shadows.

	Karen

    Thanks, Karen.  My sister told me the same thing about bouncing
    the flash off the ceiling.
    
    Thanks for the other hints.  I'll be sure to implement them.
    

    I keep my camera around in the living room.  Many of my best
    shots of the cats have happened when the little devils just
    curled up on the sofa together.  No way they will do that
    "on demand" in a photo session.
    

    	I've found that I get my best shots as candids outdoors with a long
    lens, 100 mm is OK, 200 is great!  This lets you stand well back and
    not influence the subject. - Chris